What price should the Cubs pay for poaching Theo Epstein?

Scott Lauber Saturday, October 15, 2011

As John Henry made his surprise in-studio appearance at 98.5 The Sports Hub yesterday to dispute what he considers to be unfair allegations that Red Sox ownership is engaging in a "smear campaign" against erstwhile manager Terry Francona and to discuss the general chaos emanating from Yawkey Way over the past two weeks, negotiations continued over compensation for Theo Epstein.

Those talks figure to persist through the weekend, although it appears likely the Red Sox and Cubs will reach an accord before the World Series begins Wednesday night. Epstein has agreed to a five-year deal worth almost $20 million to run the Cubs' baseball operations, but the Red Sox are seeking a package of prospects in exchange for forsaking the final year of his contract. Ben Cherington, Epstein's longtime lieutenant and expected successor, and team president Larry Lucchino are handling the negotiations for the Red Sox, who are believed to be requesting at least two top players from the Cubs' farm system.

There is precedent for such negotiations. In 2002, before Billy Beane changed his mind and backed away from the chance to take over as GM of the Red Sox, the Oakland Athletics were negotiating a compensation agreement that likely would have netted then-Double-A third baseman Kevin Youkilis. Just last month, the Chicago White Sox received two prospects from the Florida Marlins for permitting Ozzie Guillen to take over as manager in Miami.

Meanwhile, there are indications Epstein may be interested in taking some Red Sox personnel with him, a scenario that may increase the amount of compensation from the Cubs. At this point, though, a deal is expected to be reached, especially because there already is considerable excitement on the North Side of Chicago for Epstein's arrival. And although Henry has not yet been willing to get into detail about Epstein's impending departure, he did discuss him as if he already is gone.

"I would have loved for Theo to have been our general manager for the next 20 years. That was my hope," Henry said in his radio interview. "But you don't always get what you want. I did everything I could personally, and so did (chairman) Tom (Werner) and Larry, to make that happen. The fact is, being general manager in Boston, being manager in Boston, is a terrifically tough job. He never saw the general manager's role as longer than 10 years for himself. Maybe he did early on, but certainly after a few years he knew the stress of this job was too much."

Here, then, is a rundown of some prospects in the Cubs' farm system, including how they fared this season, although it's worth noting they will be extremely reluctant to relinquish highly-regarded 23-year-old former first-round pick Brett Jackson, a lefty-hitting outfielder thought to be ready for the majors perhaps as early as Opening Day: